November 6 – Beyond the Veil

And the curtain of the temple was torn in two, from top to bottom. (Mark 15:38 ESV)

Sometimes when reading the Old Testament it can come across as extremely old and a bit weird. There are over 600 rules mentioned in just the first five books. And a lot of those rules sound very silly to us today. But there was a reason for them. Many of them God put in place as a type of protection for the Jews, but some of them fall into a category theologians call typology—meaning they reference Christ in some way as a symbolic figure.

The giant curtain that hung in the Temple was important to God’s people. During the Temple days it was all that separated sinful man from the holy presence of almighty God. One man passed over to the other side once a year. Once. His job was to make a sacrifice that covered the sins of the people for the next year.

The curtain ripping at the moment of Christ’s death was no accident. Jesus was God-made-flesh, sacrifice, and great High Priest. Only God could do the work to restore the relationship between himself and man. God did it. Jesus died, and where only one man was allowed annually, now all can go. Jesus brought down the curtain so that all can experience the presence of God in their lives. All can go beyond the veil.